Investing in Greek Agriculture: A Case Study on Farmers in the Regional Unity of Serres, Greece

The Greek Ministry of Food and Agriculture is proceeding in its commitment to apply reforms of the current Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) 2014-2020. Among other measures, in November 2017 two fundamental agricultural projects were introduced: the 4.1.1., which focuses on potential investments in fixed assets and machinery, and the 4.2.3., which relates to potential investments in renewable energy resources such as net-metering systems. Investments in agriculture are considered of critical importance given their potential contribution to the Greek economy. The CAP is undoubtedly an integral and crucial part of the general Common European Policy in terms of agriculture. Nevertheless, European policies have attracted intense negative criticism including from distinguished and Nobel Prize-awarded writers and researchers such as Krugman and Stiglitz. This paper focuses on the probability and sustainability of rural investments dealing simultaneously with a profile analysis of the prospective investors. It consists of two main parts. The theoretical first part presents the special characteristics of the two implemented measures. The second part presents the empirical research carried out with farmers of the area, which was conducted via questionnaires. Participants submitted Action Improvement Plans supporting the 4.1.1 or/and 4.1.3 measures. Data were collected through personal interviews and the opportunity sampling method was used. Data were analyzed through descriptive and inducted statistical methods. This research expands the discussions around the rural investments concept. Keywords: Common Agricultural Policy, rural development, investment